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A Shifting Landscape
Late last fall, the Vestry began to explore a creative vision for sustaining our parish’s mission and ministry in the coming years. We began by naming some of the challenges our parish, like most others, are facing at this unique moment in time:
We also affirmed that our parish is living into our mission by:
Sustainable Ministry We are not in a rush to make any changes. Rather, we want to use this time as an opportunity to be intentional in discerning a creative vision of what sustainable ministry for this parish may look like in the coming years. To that end, there is a group of volunteers looking at staffing trends; the Property Committee has made a list of long term deferred maintenance and is prioritizing those projects; and we are applying this kind of intentionality to all of our ministry efforts as a leadership team. Staffing Changes: Parish Administrator At our June Vestry meeting we considered and approved some staffing changes. One of those changes was shifting the Parish Administrator position from 20 hours to 15 hours a week, effective July 1. This was not a performance-based change; rather it was a reflection of our changing financial landscape and needs. It makes sense in light of our overall projected budget deficit of $37,000 and the slow return of our property use program - in spite of our Parish Administrator’s best efforts. The administrative needs of the parish also changed during the pandemic, and will continue to evolve in the future. In particular, we have streamlined and simplified our leaflet process, allowing work to be done ahead as needed. We discussed with our Parish Administrator when to make this change, and it was his preference to do so on July 1. Effective Friday, July 1 our office hours will shift to Tuesday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The Parish Administrator will also work remotely for an hour on Monday responding to messages, and will have some time to tend to things before the office opens each day. Staffing Changes: Clergy Leadership As your rectors, we have been in conversation with one another for several months about how to plan for the eventual reality that SsJA will have one full time priest, and the eventual possibility that we will have less than one full time priest in the future. We know, from resources our Vestry has reviewed, that this future reality does not need to mean SsJA is any less healthy and vibrant than it is now. Rather it will look different. We believe we can use this time with two priests, and eventually with one, to help SsJA prepare for that future. We believe empowering and equipping lay leadership is one of our primary roles. As a point of information, Molly serves our parish ⅓ time, and Heather serves our parish full time. That said, Molly has been generous with her time, and in reality gives us closer to ½ time. We try to balance this out by giving her more time away in the summer. Your rectors recently met with a coach familiar with our parish to help us begin to plan for these eventual changes in clergy leadership. One helpful takeaway was that we need to begin by shifting Molly’s work to ⅓ time not just in theory, but in practice. This means she will continue to engage in her church work on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, and be less available the rest of the week, unless it is a matter of urgency. Another helpful takeaway is that since we have treated our Rector & Associate Rector roles and relationship as Ministry Partners, we have both been involved with many aspects of parish life, which, in effect, has often amounted to a duplication of effort. As the clergy, we highly value having both priests give time to creating meaningful worship. We want to continue to share in responsibility for worship and in our Vestry work. We feel the place where we can free up some of Molly’s time is for her to attend fewer ministry team meetings. She will continue to do work with Caregivers, Nerd Bible Study, and will be offering our lay preachers ongoing support and coaching. The Vestry affirmed this next step and the general shifts it will be helpful to make in light of Heather’s 2023 sabbatical (May-August). We will share more details as they become pertinent, but the long and the short is that we are making a gradual shift in how the clergy spend their time at SsJA, and we have identified some plans on helping equip and empower our lay leaders so they may continue to feel supported and encouraged in their leadership in the church. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to be in touch. Peace, Rev. Heather & Rev. Molly Dear People of Saints James and Andrew,
As we seek to find a way to respond to the two recent Supreme Court decisions, we encourage you to read A Pastoral Word from the Bishop: The Overturning of Roe v. Wade from Bishop Fisher and the Statement on Supreme Court Dobbs decision by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. May God be with those most affected by these decisions, and give us the wisdom on how to proceed faithfully. Yours, Rev. Heather & Rev. Molly When you think about the future, do you automatically picture Saints James and Andrew (SsJA) as the same thriving community of faith it is today? Does it continue on after you are gone? If our yearly pledge of support ends when we die, what keeps SsJA going apart from new membership? One important way to ensure the future of SsJA is to plan a gift that can be accessed after you are gone. Much like you care for the well being of your children by making them beneficiaries of your estate, you can provide for SsJA by adding us to your estate planning, leaving a legacy of financial support for generations. How great would it be to insure the survival of our outreach ministries? What would it mean to not only ensure the future of your children but also of your beloved church family?
What is legacy giving? In a nutshell, planned or legacy giving is a donor's intention to contribute a major gift to an organization, beyond their lifetime. So, unlike an annual gift (an outright gift made for current use), a planned gift is for the future. Essentially, you can make arrangements for planned gifts in the present but they are actually doled out at a later date. Additionally, the major gifts contributed by you can be made as a part of your financial or estate plans. So by definition, planned giving is not limited by your current wealth. Unlike the value of what you contribute on a recurring basis, planned giving enables you to contribute gifts that you wouldn’t ordinarily be able to make. The gifts donated end up being larger and aren’t dependent on one’s regular income. That’s why most planned gifts take the form of a beneficiary designation, life insurance, equity, or real estate holdings (among others). Thus, even if you consistently contributed small gifts, your planned gifts can be of a much higher value. Planned gifts offer the donor the satisfaction of giving a legacy of philanthropic support to an organization close to their heart. Planned gifts are not always realized immediately; therefore, your gift can help ensure the future health of the organization. Oftentimes it is not possible to give an organization a large direct gift. Planned gifts allow the opportunity to support your charitable organization in a meaningful way without giving a large outright gift. Planned gifts can also offer substantial tax savings, reduce income tax and avoid capital gains tax. Giving a planned gift allows part of your estate to avoid the expensive and sometimes arduous probate process. Through planned giving, you can leave a legacy behind after you pass. Whether leaving a bequest as a tribute to a family member or creating a legacy for your faith community to continue its good work, you can make a lasting impact on a cause that’s important to you. At James and Andrew, we can offer you several ways to make a planned gift. We have welcomed Princy Stotz to the Stewardship Team as our Legacy Giving Advisor; she is knowledgeable about planned giving options and so can answer questions and make your planning even easier. The team has also been busy creating a new informational brochure for your use when you are ready to start planning for the future. We hope you will take a look at our brochure and call on Princy to explain in more detail the exciting ways we have available to keep The Episcopal Church of Saints James and Andrew in the lives of our families and friends for many years to come. Diane Kurkulonis, Stewardship Chair Princy Stotz, Con Trowbridge, Erica Burns, Elizabeth Keitel, Stewardship Team |
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